Activist Supreme Court president voted in, sparking coalition fury
David Isaac
Right-wing lawmakers blasted the selection of Yitzhak Amit as president of the Supreme Court.
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Supreme Court Justice Isaac Amit hearing a petition in Jerusalem, April 23, 2023. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.
Israel’s Judicial Selection Committee on Sunday elected Justice Yitzhak Amit as president of the Supreme Court, after the position stood vacant for nearly 16 months.
Amit’s selection went ahead despite Justice Minister Yariv Levin‘s opposition, sparking outrage among right-wing lawmakers. Following the vote, Levin said he wouldn’t recognize the decision.
Economy and Industry Minister Nir Barkat of the Likud Party tweeted: “Shame. This is what a full legal coup looks like. The Supreme Court judges appointed a Supreme Court president on their behalf tonight, overriding the elected officials. A black day for Israeli democracy.”
Finance Minister Smotrich, chairman of the Religious Zionism Party, said: “The appointment was made in an improper and dictatorial procedure that drains the rest of the public trust in the institution of the Supreme Court. I call on Amit to withdraw and leave the position.”
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, also of Likud, said: “Everyone understood what the results of the corrupt, shady plan would be. The people will not put up with its oppression. We will dismantle and rebuild the Supreme Court and the prosecutor’s office from the ground up.”
Otzma Yehudit Party chairman Itamar Ben-Gvir tweeted: “The election of Justice Amit as president of the Supreme Court is an attack on democracy and public trust. A person over whom a cloud of [real estate] construction offenses hangs cannot serve in the highest position in the judicial system.
“This is contempt for the law and for the citizens of the country. The time has come for real reform of the judicial system, which will include replacing the attorney general and eliminating the monopoly on appointing judges,” he said, adding, “Who will judge the judges?”
Levin boycotted Sunday’s Judicial Selection Committee session, as did fellow coalition representatives on the committee, Settlements Minister Orit Strook (Religious Zionism) and MK Yitzhak Kreuzer (Otzma Yehudit).
The move came after the Supreme Court denied Levin’s request to postpone the vote due to alleged conflict of interest issues surrounding Amit.
On Jan. 13, it emerged that Amit had failed to disclose that he was involved in legal proceedings involving Tel Aviv real estate under a different name, which right-wing Israeli lawmakers said amounted to a conflict of interest. They called for an investigation.
In a letter Levin sent to Amit, he said: “I intend to continue doing everything in my power to ensure that the election of the president of the Supreme Court will take place only after the examination of all the above-mentioned outstanding claims are completed.”
Amit replied to Levin that he had no intention of dropping his candidacy for the presidency and viewed the allegations as an “organized defamation campaign … the whole purpose of which is to thwart my appointment as president of the Supreme Court and to damage the public’s trust in the judiciary.”
Amit was buttressed by opposition politicians, who praised his selection.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid, leader of the Yesh Atid Party, tweeted, “The election of Yitzhak Amit as president of the Supreme Court is a victory for democracy and good administration. Unnecessary delay has caused enormous damage to the rule of law in Israel.
“I call on Yariv Levin to stop his destructive games and work with the judge to strengthen and restore the legal system. We should be concerned with healing Israeli society, not unnecessary quarrels.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog also welcomed Amit’s election.
“For decades and in various courts, Justice Amit has contributed greatly to the Israeli legal system, and I am confident that his many skills and rich experience will play a significant part in leading the Supreme Court and the judiciary with responsibility, discretion and dedication for the benefit of the State of Israel, and in the very important task of raising public confidence in the judicial system,” he said.
It took more than a year for Amit to replace Esther Hayut, the previous Supreme Court president, who retired in October 2023.
Levin had resisted convening the Judicial Selection Committee due to his opposition both to the seniority system, whereby the most veteran judge is automatically selected as president, and to Amit, who was the leading candidate under that system.
Israel’s High Court of Justice on Sept. 8 ordered Levin to convene the Judicial Selection Committee.
Levin blasted the ruling at the time, saying, “The order, in contradiction to the express [text of the] law and given in the face of a serious conflict of interest, constitutes a forceful takeover of the Judicial Selection Committee and the usurpation of the minister’s powers contrary to the law.”
Levin added that he wouldn’t work with a judge chosen without his cooperation and in what he considered to be an illegal manner.
“The president of the Supreme Court, who is appointed improperly and by force, brings to new depths the declining trust in the court,” he said. “I cannot work with a president who was appointed illegally by his associates, and who is illegitimate in the eyes of a vast public.”
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